UA to start construction on new recreation center

Project is scheduled to be finished in early 2014

Construction on a new, 114,000-square-foot student recreation center at the University of Alabama will start within the next month, according to University Recreation officials.

Submitted rendering

By Steven HolbrookSpecial to the Tuscaloosa News

Published: Monday, November 26, 2012 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, November 25, 2012 at 11:32 p.m.

TUSCALOOSA | Construction on a new 114,000-square-foot student recreation center at the University of Alabama will start within the next month, according to UA officials.

The new center, which will be called the Student Center, is scheduled for completion in early 2014 and will be where the Rose Towers residential buildings used to be, next to Jack Warner Parkway.

George Brown, executive director of University Recreation, said the location was chosen to accommodate the fitness needs of students living on the north side of campus, and bring university recreation to them.

“We’re bringing health and well-being through fitness to different parts of campus,” Brown said. “I think it’s a really seminal moment in terms of the university addressing the needs of the students, particularly those living on the north end of campus.”

Brown said there will be few differences between the new Student Center and the current Rec Center. The new center is being built to enhance some of the more popular programs at the current center, he said.

There will be a new climbing wall and a built-in floor hockey rink, but, other than those, the cardio and weight equipment will stay roughly the same.

However, there is a difference in the size of the facilities.

“The current Rec Center is a three-generation add-on,” said Brown “After its being built in 1982, and add-ons in 1992 and 2004, it’s roughly 195,000 square feet. The new Student Center will only be about 114,000 square feet.”

However, Brown said that the amount of facility space that will be dedicated to recreation will more than make up for the reduction in size.

“The new Student Center will not be just a recreation space,” he said. “But, of the 114,000 square feet of space, about 77,000 of that will be dedicated to recreation, so, comparatively, the size is perfectly adequate.”

The new Student Center is being built in direct response to some of the overcrowding problems that the current Rec Center is facing, because of the rapid growth in student population in the last few years.

“I think that overcrowding and growth are clearly at play,” Brown said. “Since the last add-on to the current Rec Center in 2004, the student population has grown from about 22,000 to 33,600, with an anticipated growth to about 35,000. So, clearly, the Rec Center didn’t have adequate space to accommodate that many people.”

However, Brown said he doesn’t see this growth as a bad thing. Instead, he believes the university can use this population spike to the advantage of its recreation programs.

“It’s fairly clear that the university is trying to recruit great students, but in order to retain great students, they need to have those quality-of-life facilities, such as a recreation center, nearby,” he said. “I think that University Recreation can only benefit from this growth.”

Despite the second recreation center, the current Rec Center and Aquatic Center will also need to be expanded within the next 10 years, Brown said.

“Although we know that Presidential Village is on its way, we feel like the current facilities need to be updated, particularly the Rec Center fields and the Aquatic Center’s location,” he said. “We know that we’ve had problems with dedicated field space, and the Aquatic Center is certainly an aging building, so both of those present problems that will be addressed within the next few years.”

University Recreation faculty say they are excited to be a part of the new facility, not only because of the growth potential of their programs, but because of what the facility will mean for University Recreation.

“It’ll be great to have this new center,” said André Love, associate director of programs.

Love is responsible for outdoor recreation, intramural sports, club sports and informal recreation. He said he is eager about the new center because it will allow for certain programs to be moved to the new center, and it will allow for the expansion of others.

“It’s exciting to be a part of this process,” he said. “This is one of the first things I’ve been a part of since I started working here, so, for me, it’s special to be a part of it.”

Students living in the residential facilities on the north side of campus are particularly excited about the complex.

“I am excited to have a new recreation center closer to where I live,” said Morgan Mullen.

Mullen, a sophomore living in the Lakeside Residential Community, regularly visits the current Rec Center, but is eager to start using the new Student Center when it opens.

“Sometimes getting to the Rec Center is difficult, but if there’s one closer to my dorm, then there’s no excuse not to go,” she said.

<p>TUSCALOOSA | Construction on a new 114,000-square-foot student recreation center at the University of Alabama will start within the next month, according to UA officials. </p><p>The new center, which will be called the Student Center, is scheduled for completion in early 2014 and will be where the Rose Towers residential buildings used to be, next to Jack Warner Parkway. </p><p>George Brown, executive director of University Recreation, said the location was chosen to accommodate the fitness needs of students living on the north side of campus, and bring university recreation to them.</p><p>“We're bringing health and well-being through fitness to different parts of campus,” Brown said. “I think it's a really seminal moment in terms of the university addressing the needs of the students, particularly those living on the north end of campus.”</p><p>Brown said there will be few differences between the new Student Center and the current Rec Center. The new center is being built to enhance some of the more popular programs at the current center, he said.</p><p>There will be a new climbing wall and a built-in floor hockey rink, but, other than those, the cardio and weight equipment will stay roughly the same. </p><p>However, there is a difference in the size of the facilities.</p><p>“The current Rec Center is a three-generation add-on,” said Brown “After its being built in 1982, and add-ons in 1992 and 2004, it's roughly 195,000 square feet. The new Student Center will only be about 114,000 square feet.”</p><p>However, Brown said that the amount of facility space that will be dedicated to recreation will more than make up for the reduction in size.</p><p>“The new Student Center will not be just a recreation space,” he said. “But, of the 114,000 square feet of space, about 77,000 of that will be dedicated to recreation, so, comparatively, the size is perfectly adequate.”</p><p>The new Student Center is being built in direct response to some of the overcrowding problems that the current Rec Center is facing, because of the rapid growth in student population in the last few years. </p><p>“I think that overcrowding and growth are clearly at play,” Brown said. “Since the last add-on to the current Rec Center in 2004, the student population has grown from about 22,000 to 33,600, with an anticipated growth to about 35,000. So, clearly, the Rec Center didn't have adequate space to accommodate that many people.”</p><p>However, Brown said he doesn't see this growth as a bad thing. Instead, he believes the university can use this population spike to the advantage of its recreation programs.</p><p>“It's fairly clear that the university is trying to recruit great students, but in order to retain great students, they need to have those quality-of-life facilities, such as a recreation center, nearby,” he said. “I think that University Recreation can only benefit from this growth.”</p><p>Despite the second recreation center, the current Rec Center and Aquatic Center will also need to be expanded within the next 10 years, Brown said.</p><p>“Although we know that Presidential Village is on its way, we feel like the current facilities need to be updated, particularly the Rec Center fields and the Aquatic Center's location,” he said. “We know that we've had problems with dedicated field space, and the Aquatic Center is certainly an aging building, so both of those present problems that will be addressed within the next few years.”</p><p>University Recreation faculty say they are excited to be a part of the new facility, not only because of the growth potential of their programs, but because of what the facility will mean for University Recreation.</p><p>“It'll be great to have this new center,” said André Love, associate director of programs.</p><p>Love is responsible for outdoor recreation, intramural sports, club sports and informal recreation. He said he is eager about the new center because it will allow for certain programs to be moved to the new center, and it will allow for the expansion of others. </p><p>“It's exciting to be a part of this process,” he said. “This is one of the first things I've been a part of since I started working here, so, for me, it's special to be a part of it.”</p><p>Students living in the residential facilities on the north side of campus are particularly excited about the complex.</p><p>“I am excited to have a new recreation center closer to where I live,” said Morgan Mullen.</p><p>Mullen, a sophomore living in the Lakeside Residential Community, regularly visits the current Rec Center, but is eager to start using the new Student Center when it opens.</p><p>“Sometimes getting to the Rec Center is difficult, but if there's one closer to my dorm, then there's no excuse not to go,” she said.</p>